Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
After finding out that Yuan Zhou had not added any sugar, Ji Yi appeared agitated or even deranged as he started mumbling to himself.
“Why is it sweet without sugar? You’re using the northern wheat? No, that should not be the taste,” Ji Yi frowned as he looked at Yuan Zhou. He was not known as Master of Cooked Wheaten Foods for no reason. He had a clear understanding of the tastes of the various flours.
“This old man is behaving like a child.” Liu Zhang looked at Ji Yi helplessly.
Yuan Zhou glanced at Liu Zhang before answering, “The northern wheat has a decent toughness and taste. They can be used to produce dough of good quality. But for this particular dish, the southern wheat is better as they have more moisture in them while flour produced from them will be sweeter. With cold spring water, the sweetness can be released.”
“Most people know that different parts of the tongue will correspond to different tastes. The tip of the tongue is more sensitive to sweetness, the back of the tongue is more sensitive to bitterness and spiciness, the two sides of the tongue are more sensitive to saltiness, and the two sides of the tip of the tongue are more sensitive to sourness. I prepared this dish in a way that the sweetness will be released at the tip of the tongue by hiding it under the lard,” Yuan Zhou explained. This was an unknown preparation method given to him by the system that he had subsequently modified.
Yuan Zhou had given a long explanation. It was very rare for him to speak this much. The only reason he did that was to show his gratitude to Liu Zhang for teaching him how to prepare raw livers without holding anything back.
“Cold spring water? Moisture? I see,” Ji Yi blanked out slightly before lowering his head to study the Thousand Thread Mantou before him, as if a heavenly secret was contained within.
“Thank you, Boss Yuan,” Liu Zhang thanked.
“You’re welcome. Don’t worry about it,” Yuan Zhou replied seriously.
Liu Zhang did not say anything. He waved his hand and faced Ji Yi, preparing to talk.
However, before Liu Zhang could say anything, Ji Yi spoke first, “I’m old. I can no longer keep up with the world.”
That’s right. Ji Yi did not know what Yuan Zhou told him before this. The only thing he knew was that the northern wheat would be the only suitable ingredient to prepare wheaten foods with. After all, the wheat there were sweet, pliable, and tough. Such wheat was very suitable for making Mantous, buns, dumplings, or noodles.
Due to his existing knowledge, he was finding it hard to innovate. Or to be precise, he knew everything there is about making snacks but Yuan Zhou had used not only knowledge on making snacks when preparing the Thousand Thread Mantou. He had also integrated the knowledge of other aspects during the preparation of this dish.
A person who focused on learning only one thing might be good at that thing. But Yuan Zhou had a wider range of knowledge and was able to integrate them together seamlessly. Ji Yi raised his head and lamented as he looked at Yuan Zhou, “How young.”
He did not finish his sentence. He was actually trying to say that Yuan Zhou already had such capability and knowledge at such a young age.
“Hahaha, old farts like us should just enjoy our retirement,” Liu Zhang did not mind and said with a smile.
“True. Let me try the other dishes that have also been praised endlessly,” Ji Yi was still disheartened, but he was unwilling to show it in front of Liu Zhang. Therefore, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating the other dishes.
Liu Zhang did not say anything and continued eating his food. New customers had arrived at the table beside him. They were Qin Xiaoyi and Gao Fan.
“Do you feel like this Clear Broth Noodle Soup tastes even better now?” Qin Xiaoyi asked as he poked Gao Fan.
Gao Fan did not answer and continued eating his Clear Broth Noodle Soup. It wasn’t because he was starving. This was just a habit from their many battles with Wu Hai. Whenever he ate anything at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, he would be eating at the fastest speed possible by reflex so as to not give his enemy any chances.
Two minutes later, only the soup was left of the Clear Broth Noodle Soup. Finally, Gao Fan raised his head and looked at Qin Xiaoyi, “It tastes better? I don’t know, but it’s really very good. If not for my financial limitation, I will order a Clear Broth Noodle Soup Set on top of it.”
“You’re a pig. I shouldn’t have asked you,” Qin Xiaoyi shook his head in disappointment. Although this was the second time he had eaten the Clear Broth Noodle Soup here with the first time being one month ago, he could truly feel that the taste had improved. Qin Xiaoyi was not only a smart person. His taste buds were quite sharp as well.
Yuan Zhou just so happened to be idling around and overheard them. He secretly smiled to himself before looking at Qin Xiaoyi in astonishment.
One ought to know that when Yuan Zhou first obtained the system’s rewards such as the Egg Fried Rice and others, these were all idiot-proof rewards.
What was an idiot-proof reward? Take the Egg Fried Rice as an example. It was the first dish Yuan Zhou had obtained. There were many methods one could cook an Egg Fried Rice. Some methods differed in the preparation time, while some differed in the number of ingredients.
It was a fact that a tiny difference could change the entire taste of the dish, either improving or worsening it. As the first reward, the system had selected the most perfected recipe it had for Yuan Zhou.
Now, under Yuan Zhou’s insistence, the system would provide all variations of a dish’s recipe to Yuan Zhou. Yuan Zhou would be allowed to make his own choice on how exactly he wanted to cook the dish. For example, there were over 100 variations to the Mushroom Roasted Chicken Tail’s recipe. Some of them were the variations created in the latter days after this dish came into existence.
This was also why each time Yuan Zhou released a new dish, he would first spend one day to do his tests. He wanted to use the optimal and best preparation method, to use the best recipe. Therefore, Yuan Zhou’s dishes have always been improving.
Of course, the more skilled a person was, the tinier the improvement would be. Yuan Zhou could see his improvement all the time, and he was happy to see it as well. However, only a small number of his customers could actually taste the improvement in his dishes.
Yuan Zhou felt excellent having someone noticing his improvement. This made him feel like his life was more purposeful now.
The atmosphere in Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was harmonious with everyone happily enjoying their lunch. Meanwhile, things weren’t looking that well for Zhou Shijie.
“What did you say?” Zhou Shijie asked with a frown as he stared at Zhong Lili.
“The chief secretary of Alliance of Cooked Wheaten Food Masters has stayed at Chengdu for eight days. Today, he went to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant the moment it was opened,” Zhong Lili repeated the information she obtained.
“What is that geezer doing here?” Zhou Shijie asked in bewilderment.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Zhou Shijie raised his head and asked again.
“Because the chief secretary has been spending the past few days with his old friend, Liu Zhang,” Zhong Lili answered.
“I thought they don’t like each other? Why did they stay together for so long?” Zhou Shijie was even more confused.
One ought to know that both Ji Yi and Liu Zhang were well-known in the cooking circle. Outsiders did not know about the affairs of these two, but it was still a common knowledge that these two dislike each other and would start bickering whenever they met.
That was why Zhou Shijie became confused when he heard them staying together for eight days. They should start fighting whenever they see each other instead.
“Boss Yuan went overseas in search for delicacies seven days ago. Perhaps they stayed together for him?” Zhong Lili suggested.
“Yuan Zhou? True, that kid is quite good in cooked wheaten food as well. Is that geezer here to snatch him?” Zhou Shijie asked.
As far as Zhou Shijie was concerned, Ji Yi had been staying here for seven days and had rushed to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant the moment Yuan Zhou opened his restaurant. The only reason he would do that was to recruit Yuan Zhou into the Alliance of Cooked Wheaten Food Masters.
“That man is actually snatching people from my turf? Hmph!” Zhou Shijie stood up and put on his jacket, obviously preparing to go somewhere.
It was very rare for Zhou Shijie to be so energetic. This shocked Zhong Lili greatly.
“President? Uncle Zhou, where are you going?” Zhong Lili asked.
“Of course I’m going to return Yuan Zhou to the rightful path. He is a person in the cooking circle. How can I allow him to become a baker?” Zhou Shijie said and left.
Thus arrived the eve of a war for talent.
